Gundam 00S: Star Struck Episode 8: Enter Space
Chapter 16 “Well, there it is, the orbital elevator.” Announced Ransac after several hours of flying. Ever since the battle he hadn't dared land in case of an ambush. “It looks so beautiful.” Said Syrene. In his mind, Ransac agreed. Extending from the ground into the very sky itself stood a massive monument to technology and ingenuity. The Orbital Elevator glistened as light reflected off the many windows and what construction panels could be seen. When fossil fuels began to dwindle, the world leaders agreed on a plan to replace fuel based power generation This plan, originally drafted by Aeolia Schenburg, was the greatest project to be undertaken by the world. The Orbital Elevators took decades to finally become operational. The Orbital Elevator in the Human Reform League was the second to become fully operational. After years of struggle, in which three wars were fought over the elevator, the construct was finally finished. Despite being mainly intended to distribute solar power to the entirety of the HRL, the elevator also was host to a series of tourist attractions. Tourists could ride a special linear train from the surface into space itself, coming out at the orbital block at the top. From there people could look down on the Earth itself. This was the highlight attraction of the orbital elevator. Besides transferring people into space, the trains were also used to transport materials from Earth for space colony construction. A lesson learned as a result of the wars, and due to the relative fragility of the Orbital Elevator, the tower was constantly under watch by the military. “What’s that over there?” Asked Syrene, interrupting Ransac’s thoughts. Ransac followed her gaze, far in the horizon a small silhouette was approaching them. “That would be Strafe, glad to see he made it.” “Ransac, land the Gundam here, meet the others at the elevator.” Ordered Strafe. “What about you?” “I’ll smuggle the Agas suits and the Gundam within a supply train, you two will take the train into space, Daryl will meet you up there.” “Roger that, landing now.” Ransac brought the Gundam to a stop. Just as Syrene began to climb out, another transmission came through. “By the way, I brought you guys something.” Announced Strafe. That something turned out to be a car. The vehicle was held firmly in the hand of Strafe’s Agas. Most likely the vehicle was stolen. Strafe gently deposited the car in front of Ransac. “Happy Birthday to me.” Said Ransac as he inspected the car. He was about to climb into the drivers seat when Syrene grabbed his shoulder. “Not going to happen, you don’t have a license.” She said with a grin. “I can fly a high speed mobile suit designed to make rapid maneuvers without difficulty, but you won’t let me drive a simple car?” “Yup, ironic isn’t it?” Ransac reluctantly threw himself into the passengers seat. Syrene turned the key and drove towards the road leading to the Orbital Elevator. A few quiet moments passed. During this time an interesting thought came into Ransac’s head. Before the battle, Syrene had barely talked with him unless it had something to do with the mission or the Gundam. Ransac had accepted this, believing his status as a Super Soldier, combined with first impressions, hadn’t helped him in the beginning. Dom had another theory. Amidst barely contained laughter, which thoroughly confused Ransac, Dom had said that she had a crush on him. Ransac had seen this as another one of Dom’s jokes and thus didn’t take it seriously. Now he was getting the feeling Dom was right. After Ransac had rescued Syrene from the base, she had been considerable more open with him than before. Now she was joking with him as if he were Dom or Strafe. This sudden change completely threw him off. Back in the Super Human Institute, there had been no use for understanding relationships with the other gender. It was simply do as told until you die. While that training had helped Ransac over the past two years, it was of no help now. He had no idea how to deal with women. “We’re here.” Announced Syrene. Ransac snapped out of his thoughts to realize that they were indeed at the elevator. As he climbed out, he looked up, and then up even higher. It was strange for a pilot to experience vertigo on the ground, but here he was. The tower was enormous up close. Ransac had to make sure he was still standing before following Syrene into the building. First impressions on the inside were that of looking into a mall. There were several stores placed throughout the building. In one corner was a eatery, where food vendors valiantly battled for supremacy. Sitting at a table, were Longshot and Dom. Dom waved them over, pulling out two seats as they approached. “Good to see you two made it, I take it Strafe is managing the mobile suits?” Asked Longshot. “Yes, he’s bringing them up.” answered Syrene. Dom chuckled. “That’ll cheer him up won’t it? He finally gets to use the Gundam. To bad it’s only for a short time.” “I hope nothing goes wrong, it would be a disaster if Strafe was caught with the Gundam or an Agas.” Said Syrene. “Don’t worry about Strafe, he knows this routine quite well, Celestial Being does this all the time for that matter.” Said Longshot. “It’s nearly time for us to get moving.” He added after checking his watch. “Linear Train Five now boarding.” Announced the intercom. “That’d be us, let’s get moving.” Said Longshot as he threw his bag over his shoulder. The group struggled through a increasingly thick crowd as they made their way to the station. With an unceremonious squeeze, the group tumbled forward onto the station floor. “Damn it, Dom! Watch where you’re going!” Snapped Longshot. “Me?! It was your bag that got us stuck!” “Shut up the both of you!” Snapped Ransac as he picked himself up. As he did, he caught sight of a man quickly turning away from his gaze. Curious, he followed him with his eyes as the man walked away. Before turning down a corner, the man turned to Ransac, and gave a cold grin before leaving sight. Ransac paled immediately upon seeing his face. “Guys, we’re not alone here.” Announced Ransac, interrupting the extended argument between Longshot and Dom. “What do you mean? Is Strafe here?” Asked Dom as he looked around. “No, Milliardo.” “We move, now.” Ordered Longshot, practically dragging Dom by the shoulder as he marched. “Lemme go, I can walk by my self!” Demanded Dom. “Don’t walk, run!” Ordered Longshot, making a beeline straight for the train. The group didn’t hesitate to follow. The group finally stopped when they reached the inside of the train. The group nearly fell onto a group of people as they entered. “Watch it there, last four to board today I see, you get that cabin.” Said the conductor in a business tone. He pointed to a door two rows away before turning to seal the train. The group piled inside and took their seats, checking almost everything for some kind of sabotage. When nothing came up suspicious, they finally breathed easier. “What the hell is Milliardo doing here?” Snarled Longshot. “Are we even sure it was him? You sure it wasn’t a trick of the light?” Asked Dom. “It’s my face isn’t it?” Snapped Ransac. “Alright, calm down, didn’t mean to insult.” Said Dom in mock panic. “Do you ever shut up?” Snapped Longshot. And with that the two dove into yet another argument. Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Space The train finally came to a stop. To Ransac this came with a great feeling of relief. The trip had been strange. At least to him anyway. When the train had begun moving, the seats themselves turned sideways. Since the train went straight up, this meant nearly half of the trip was made facing downwards. To make things stranger, Ransac felt gravity growing weaker by the second. Finally the small amount of gear they had brought ended up floating around the cabin. Remarkably, Dom and Longshot had continued their argument, nearly oblivious to the change. Ransac was about to shout at the both of them. Except he was beaten to the punch. “Will the both of you shut up?!” Burst Syrene. The effect was rather impressive. Dom almost choked on his words in shock. Longshot had been more subtle, his eyebrows nearly vanishing into his hair. The two ended up quietly grumbling to themselves rather than risk further pushing Syrene. “Nice work.” Chuckled Ransac. Syrene grinned before pushing off from her seat. With a ease almost bordering on grace she floated to the door. Ransac attempted to follow but ended up floating into the wall. His attempt at recovering was almost as bad, accidentally crashing into Longshot. “Watch it will ya?!” Barked Longshot as he aimed Ransac at the door before shoving him away. Dom was laughing as he followed. “Smooth one.” He said as he passed Ransac, who attempted to follow. Unfortunately he continued to bump into things and in some cases, people. He was saved from further embarrassment when Longshot grabbed a hold of him and steered him right. “You’d want to figure out zero gravity pretty quick here.” “You’re telling me.” Sighed Ransac. Finally they made it out of the train and into the station. The place was filled with people, either heading down to the surface or like them, leaving a train. “Weeeeeee!” Said Dom as he performed a series of flips in the air. His fun was interrupted when Longshot grabbed his leg and quickly pulled him down. “Don’t draw attention.” He snarled. Dom glared before throwing his arms up in defeat. “Guy can’t have any fun around here.” He grumbled. Longshot looked around, searching for something. “Where’s Strafe? He should’ve been here before us.” The group quickly joined the search. “Maybe he’s waiting in the main lobby?” Offered Syrene. Longshot nodded before kicking off towards the exit. Ransac did the same, sighing in relief as he didn’t end up soaring out of control. Dom floated past, lying upward with his head laying on his arms as he went. “Hey, how’s it going?” Said Dom with a grin as he soared past. Ransac rolled his eyes. The group came to a stop when they entered the middle of the main lobby. Longshot sighed as he spotted Strafe floating towards the group. “Sorry about that, was finishing up preparations before your train arrived.” “So everything’s set then?” Asked Longshot. Strafe nodded. “Our shuttle is ready as well. Follow me.” Strafe lead the group through the crowd to a checking station. Standing on either side of a station were two guards. Strafe lead them to the nearest. “We’re from the HRL, we’ve been assigned to inspect the solar array.” Said Strafe as he pulled out passports. The guards looked at him suspiciously after they observed the group. Ransac willed himself to look directly into the guards eyes. Finally they stepped aside and slide a key card through a small slot. The door slid open in response. “Have a good day then, watch your step, zero gravity can be very unpredictable.” Strafe nodded as he lead the group past. After about a minute of floating through the hall, the group came upon a small blue transport. This was to be there shuttle. “Not very big, is it?” Said Dom. “It’s big enough, now get in.” Snapped Longshot. The group entered the shuttle, making sure to duck their heads as they went. Strafe and Syrene took their places at the controls. Ransac, carefully took his seat, quickly putting on a safety belt. “Hang on.” Said Strafe as the shuttle began moving forward. Within seconds the group was outside the Orbital Elevator. “Welcome to space.” Said Longshot. Ransac watched in awe as the elevator pulled away, showing thousands of stars shining brightly. “And if you look up at the view screen, you can see Earth.” Informed Syrene. Ransac did as she said and looked at the screen. The sight took his breath away. Earth was massive, and sitting almost serenely behind. Ransac watched as Earth grew smaller as the shuttle moved further away. Spreading across the globe, was the orbital ring itself. The orbital ring was a massive ring of solar panels. It circled around the entire planet, half of it vanishing from sight behind Earth. It reminded Ransac of a photo of Saturn he’d once seen. Ransac forced himself to turn away. “Where are we headed anyway?” He asked Longshot. He was aware Celestial Being had at least two carriers hidden in space. The Ptolemaios, the most recent of the two, was used primarily by the main team of Gundam Meisters. The other, used by Fereshte, was supposed to be a modified mobile repair bay. The name was unknown to Ransac but he knew that it also held it’s own supply of Gundams, though they only had one GN-Drive to use between them and they were earlier generations. He wondered if they were headed to one of these. “You’ll see.” Replied Longshot. Seeing that Longshot wasn’t going to give answers, Ransac gave up and chose to instead rest while he could. The group traveled for an hour before he was woken up. “We’re here.” Announced Strafe. Ransac looked through the viewport to see empty space. Confusion crossed his face. “There’s nothing here.” “Oh really? Look again.” Chuckled Longshot. Ransac looked again, searching intently for something. Suddenly the space before them was replaced with a massive ship. It had appeared out of nowhere and remained stationary in front of them. Strafe lead the shuttle into a hanger on the side. “Welcome to The Traveller.” Said Longshot as the shuttle came to a stop. 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